Sheena's Blog: Kings Fund, flu jabs and film

by Sheena Cumiskey
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13 November 2015

This morning I was greeted by the news on the review of The Kings Fund report on mental health services and the impact of reducing funding on services. This was followed by Stephen Dalton of the NHS Confederation Mental Health Network, who represent mental health trusts’ views on how policy now needs to translate to resources coming to front-line services. It is really positive to see the profile of mental health being raised in this way.

I know it is unseasonably warm and I for one still have my scarf and gloves in the back of the drawer at home, however, I know that this is unlikely to continue. So whilst it seems strange to be mentioning this, we do need to ensure that we are prepared for the winter, and in particular that we have had our flu jabs. It is vital that we play our part in protecting the most vulnerable people against the effects of flu, by not passing it on to them. The more people that have had the jab, the less likely that is to happen. It is especially important for those members of our teams who have regular contact with people who are at risk of serious harm from having flu.

Finally, I would like to encourage you to watch the CWP film made to celebrate the first year of us providing substance misuse services in Crewe and Macclesfield. This film was shown, along with the film 'Dear Albert' at a private screening to an invited audience of service users and stakeholders. Both films feature the inspiring and personal stories of the journey to recovery.

It is a very moving reminder of how any of us can have difficult times in our lives, that these difficulties can take us to places that we can damage ourselves and others, but that there is hope from the support that our and other services provide to help people who find themselves in distress move into a better place in their lives